This invention relates generally to inkjet printers, and more particularly to media handling and ejection system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,730,537 (""537), issued to Kieran B. Kelly et al. and assigned to Hewlett-Packard Company, discloses a print media handling and ejection system and is incorporated herein by reference.
In particular, ""537 discloses a pair of rail extensions above an output stack for supporting a media sheet as the media sheet is being printed. The rail extensions can rotate between a down, extended position and an up, retracted position. When the printing job is over, the rail extensions are rotated upward from the extended position to the retracted position, and the printed media sheet is free to move into an output tray.
Nowadays, printers in high printing volume scenarios desire high output capacity. In ""537, the rail extensions sweep down toward the output stack when they are activated. Hence the lowest point of the rail extensions in their extended positions limits the height of the output stack. In order to achieve a desired output capacity, an extra height is needed for accommodating the rail extensions of ""537 when they are retracted. Such an extra height may not be desirable for printers due to the limited space in printers.
According to the invention, an inkjet printer includes an inkjet cartridge having a printhead at which ink is ejected onto a media sheet and a substantially horizontally slidable support adjacent to the inkjet cartridge. The support is substantially horizontally slidable between (1) a first position in which the support supports a portion of the media sheet when the media sheet is printed and fed toward a media output area and (2) a second position in which the media sheet is free to move to the media output area.
In one aspect of the invention, the printer includes a support frame mounted on the printer, and the support frame has a rail along which the support moves substantially horizontally. In one embodiment of the invention, the support includes a tongue for resting on and moving along the rail.
Ideally, a print zone within which ink is printed onto the media sheet occurs between the printhead and the support. Furthermore, the output area has an output tray, and the support has a rail support mechanism which is located above the output tray and extends in the output area away from the print zone.
In another aspect of the invention, the printer includes a driver for transferring a rotational driving force into a linear driving force such that the support is driven to move substantially horizontally between the first and the second positions.
In the preferred embodiment, the driver has a rotatable shaft for receiving the rotational driving force and an actuator which is connected to the shaft and extends away from the shat for driving the support to move substantially horizontally. In addition, the support has a sleeve for receiving the actuator.
Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate by way of example the principles of the invention.